Hello All!

Much like the Belmont meet, the Saratoga turf ran quick all summer with the weather, for the most part, being hot and dry. Of 197 turf races run during the meet, only 27 were taken off the grass. In the Adirondacks, they call that spectacular weather.

Let’s begin at the end.

Race # 1 on 9/3 was a MSW for 2 yr. old males at the distance of 1 1/16th miles and was NOT a FHF fast race. But races for maiden 2 yr. old's are where you find your future investments, and Saratoga is the place to find the best two yr. old's. From that race, Noble Tune stands out. After a pedantic pace the last quarter was run in a quick 23.22 and he personally cut the last 16th in a sizzling 5.65 on his way to the wire after splitting horses in deep stretch. This son of Unbridled’s Song running for the amazing Chad Brown will need to be reckoned with down the road. And that road leads no doubt, to Belmont, Keeneland and Gulfstream Park. I should also make note of runner-up Draw Two, who remained covered up until deep stretch, was swung 5 wide and accelerated very well in a short time to win the place photo. The son of Macho Uno (Holy Bull) should be a short price in his next start but if not, I’ll be on it.

A race of lesser note but still interesting was the 5th, a restricted claiming 20K affair on the turf at 5 ½ F for girls. Lea the Punisher was no doubt, placed into this race with intent by David Jacobson, only to have a tough trip while recovering late into fast fractions to pick up the show position. Her history is to disappoint as the favorite, a knock on the handicapping public more than the horse. Regardless, be advised and watch the tote…and consider yourself warned! But between her failure in an off the turf affair 2 back as the favorite, and her 3rd place finish here, she may be a little bit of a price downstate. Just remember that the purses at the Spa were inflated, and the company in these races reflected that. A rise in class this fall may be an illusion, which will likely help our price.

Another maiden affair to keep in mind was run on 9/1 as race #4 and was fast. My eye is on Evening Garden, another offspring of Unbridled’s Song but this time, with the king, Storm Cat on the dam’s side. The rider lost the whip in deep stretch while she attended fast fractions the entire way, and even re-rallied to gain the 4th spot. She was 50-1. I would check out the chart for this race and keep an eye on the top 4 runners.

Race # 4 on 8/22 was an optional claimer for fillies and mares and was run fast late with Adjacent setting all the fractions, and while pressed by a familiar foe in Sylvestris (Ire), was able to accelerate and hold her off by the a neck. Sylvestris stumbled out of the gate and still almost won. Further, Ramon ‘I can win anytime I want’ Dominguez saw fit to ride Sylvestris for Robert Barbara, a rare trainer-jockey combo. If he decides to stick with her in her next start downstate, take a long look.

Lastly, I’ll finish up where I began back in June and July. As I posted back on July 7th, my horse to watch out of the Belmont meet was Madame Giry. She won both her starts at the Spa in impressive fashion and if she continues to move forward, isn’t done winning. In her last start on 8/24 she ran against a horse I had written about back in June, Ballistic Sue. who just came back to win on Memorial Day at Monmouth Park.

From the Saratoga meet, my horse to watch is Revolutionary. A colt by War Pass out of the A.P. Indy mare Runup The Colors, he runs for Todd Pletcher and Winstar Farms. War pass stands for $15,000 but this colt sold for $235,000 and looked the part in his first start. The chart says he was "clobbered at the start and forced hard into MONSIGNOR then checked..." and spotted the field six or seven lengths at the start...as the favorite. No question his price will be short but this horse looks to be a runner, and we are looking towards the future and not just the next race. I have already marked him in my notebook, and he will be a Slew key horse down the road.

Of the 46 races that Slew finds were the fastest of the fast, only 10 were on the dirt. I’m not sure what that will mean for big Sandy, but beginning Saturday September 8th expect more of the same on the turf at Belmont.

That’s how I see it. However you see it…good luck and good ‘capping! - Slew http://SlewsFastHorses.com

Hello all! Back on March 11th, we wrote on our Facebook page about two maiden horses coming out of the Santa Anita meeting that merited attention. One of those horses ran today at Del Mar and was beaten by a nose.

That colt is named No Silent and still merits attention.

By Silent Name (Sunday Silence) out of a War Chant mare (Two Names), No Silent broke his maiden in his 4th MSW race after being beaten a length, head and neck in consecutive races. His 2nd race on 3/10/2012, he was beaten by Achilles who came back to win his next start in optional allowance company. The second horse we spoke about, Late Night Sky, came out of the same race to drop into Mcl company to come out a winner.

No Silent's next race was on May 5th at Hollywood Park where he was beaten a neck by Canuletmedowneasy who went on to win his next start, also in optional allowance company. In fact, there were exactly 4 next out winners from that May 5th race, one being No Silent who next broke his maiden on the 7th of July at Hollywood Park. It is quite possible that the 5TH winner out of that race will be Fable Haven, who ran 2nd in his next start to My Best Brother, who just lost by a nose in the La Jolla Hcp (G II) to Old Time Hockey.

It is a tangled web, isn't it?

The horse is managed by Gary Mandella and has a pedigree of champions, with Sunday Silence being Sunday Silence and War Chant the victor in the 2000 Breeders Cup Mile (he beat my beloved King Cugat that day at Churchill and broke my heart). Today, the only horse that beat him was All Squared Away, who was entered out of the allowance condition and was in for the 80K tag, and the only horse in the race out of conditions. He was not eligible except for the tag because of his win in the G III Lexington back on 4/21 at Keeneland. All Squared Away has outrun his humble Mcl beginnings and is managed by the white hot Peter Miller who is winning at a lights out 27% at Del Mar. In case you missed it, that's THEEEE DEL MAR!

No Silent looks to be a runner and while he only has 1 win in 5 starts, his 4 place showings were of the fighting variety by a combined length and a whisker. This guy can flat out run and compete, is young and still learning, and as a late foal has some development ahead of him. Today's mile race was run in 1:33.43 with No Silent taking over in the lane having run 6F in 1:09.60 plus a tick.

My suggestion is to watch him carefully. Today's race was taxing and I suspect he will be given some time to recoup and clean up his feed bucket. But he is still eligible for first level allowance and while he won't be much of a price next time, he merits a long look and will be a key horse for Slew down the road.

That's how I see it. However you see it...good luck and good 'capping! - Slew http://SlewsFastHorses.com

The turf at Belmont Park has been running fast. Very fast. But fast in a curious way, because it doesn't appear to be restricted to only the better grade of race. I'm seeing rather fast times across the entire spectrum of races. And since it is the horse that runs fast and not the turf, and with Christmas in August fast approaching (Saratoga), I pay attention.

For example, on July 5th, the fifth race on the turf for 3 yr. old's was a 60K Starter Optional Claiming won by Quantity in 1:40.70. The final quarter was run in 23.71 and the last 16th in a strong 5.96 seconds. One race prior, a high level Maiden Claiming race was run on the inner turf course for 3 & up at the same distance. And while the shape was a bit different (slow early) based on the inner course configuration, the resulting finishing times were curious when compared to each other.

The Maiden Claimer ran the final quarter in 22.54 and the final 16th in 5.81. Both faster then the more accomplished 3 yr. old horses one race later. What raised my eyebrows even higher was a comparison to race 8 on the same day. Race 8 was another 1 1/16th turf affair also run on the inner. That race was won by Street Game, who's been running against some nice foes. That race saw the final quarter run in 22.64 and the last 16th run in 5.80 seconds.

So while the 8th is a race to watch, so then is the 4th. Dominguez rode Last Starter to a nice win while in for 45K in a 50K claimer. If she goes to Saratoga, she will be facing some tough allowance company or claimers (and winners) worth much more. The place horse, Wandering Kitten ridden my Rosie Napravnik had a trip true to her name and with a straighter course would have made a better impression on the charts. She lost by 2 lengths as the slight favorite and may also show up at the Spa. But she will be a maiden still and probably a favorite given the troubled trip. The next two were separated by less than a length. Watch for Lion Prince in a paceless race if he is the only front runner. He was five lengths behind the winner which won't look good in the PP's. But considering the swift closing fractions, and the general swiftness of the turf course, that might work out just fine if the company is the right kind next time out.

As for horses to watch, I would keep an eye on the winner of the 7th, Madame Giry. Winning her MSW in fine style after being risked in a 65K MClm race, she has a pedigree that gives her license to be a good racehorse. By Castledale, she has the Nureyev blood. Her grand sire Peintre Celebre, won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in which he broke the track record by more than 3 seconds. She had not shown precocity in her 3 prior MSW races but that may just be her taking a bit longer to learn the game. She was a late (April) foal and may need a bit more time. But on the 6th she was spotted well, she got a field she could handle and more importantly, stayed in easy striking position with little effort and understood what to do when it was time to do it.

So however you see it, good luck and good 'capping!

Slew

Hello all! Those of you familiar with my "Slew's Fast Horses" listings have seen on one or two occasions a "key Horse" listed at the top of the daily file. This does not happen often because these horses come from my own evaluation of fast races that merit a closer look. I don't pick many but one or two get selected and when they run, get added to the daily file. Tomorrow (Sat.) is one of those times.

The Sands Point, a Grade II turf event run May 29th at Belmont Park produced a flying finish that involved three horses: Better Lucky, Regalo Mia and Zultanite. The favorite, Somali Lemonade was a curious 4th and was never really involved. The race ran quickly with the exception of the 1st quarter. Better Lucky and Regalo Mia came home dead tight in 1:42.75 with the last 16th run in a nice 6.09 seconds. The track record was set by Roman Envoy in 1992 at 1:39.38 carrying 117 lbs. It was his best year, with 6 wins from 10 starts with earnings in excess of 450k. He was bred and owned by the venerable Fred W. Hooper. It should be noted that in the Sands Point all carried 117 lbs except Somali Lemonade who weighed in at 121 lbs.

While both horses, Somali lemonade and Zultanite are dropping into the Grade III level, and while I tend to look to horses that finished together to reverse themselves the next time they face each other, I think not this time. Zultanite has held his from since his maiden win in November and showed courage on the rail as he was headed in deep stretch by Better Lucky. If he isn't dead tired, he should be tough in this spot, with rider Paco Lopez winning at 22% for the meet.

I will be at Monmouth Park tomorrow and barring anything unexpected in the paddock and walking ring, Zultanite will be my key horse in that race. I will probably hedge just a bit using an exacta box with Somali Lemonade in case she wakes up. But the listing in Slew's file stands:

SLEW'S FAST HORSES for (06/23/12) v1.0

CURRENT KEY HORSES (< 90 DAYS)

Zultanite - MP (11) 05/28/12 # 7

For whatever YOU do, good luck and good 'capping!

Slew

Hello all. I normally post in the guest handicappers section but today, I find that two races merit attention and possibly some horses who have yet to run as well.

There was one race at Belmont Park today (6-20) that strikes me as a bit strange. Race 4, a Maiden Claiming affair for the girls at 6F was run in a quick 1:08.57 on what was no doubt, a dry and glib turf course. The winner, Vindicated Ghost had run previously in an Optional Allowance affair on June 1st as a MAIDEN. That race was won by Ballastic Sue in a quicker 1:07.65. True to her name, Ballastic Sue paid $33.00. That June 1 race now has 2 next out winners, as Strategic Missle came back 6 days later to win a SB AlwOC and paid $80.00. That horse was a single on Slew's list that day and is no stranger to the winners circle.

It seems to me that the seed race (the 6th) on June 1st has yet to see the entire story unfold as it was fairly contentious, and the 8th race on June 7th needs to be watched. The first 5 horses were separated by less then 1 1/2 lengths.

Keep an eye out for runners from these races.

Slew